City of San José Celebrates New Railway “Quiet Zone”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 20, 2022

Media Contact:

Rachel Davis, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Sam Liccardo

408.712.9149, [email protected]

SAN JOSÉ, CA - Today, the City of San José and local elected officials celebrated the start of a partial quiet zone along the Union Pacific Railroad rail right-of-way running from Diridon Station through North San José. The alignment, part of Union Pacific's Warm Springs division, will feature quiet hours between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. during which train operators will not sound train horns, as they are otherwise legally required to do at street crossings with surface traffic.

"I'm grateful to Assemblymember Ash Kalra for helping to secure the funding necessary for San José's newly formed partial quiet zone and safer railway crossings," said San José Mayor Sam Liccardo. "Thanks to the continued advocacy of our residents, my council colleagues and federal partners, thousands of our neighbors can sleep better at night - while maintaining the safety of our community."

A portion of Senate Bill 129's budget allocations, approved in 2021, included $8 million in one-time funding secured by Assemblymember Kalra, will be put toward future permanent safety measures in the affected neighborhoods. Total improvements are estimated at over $12 million.

"I am so glad to see a quiet zone finally become established after years of advocacy from impacted residents," said Assemblymember Ash Kalra. "After a collaborative, multi-year effort, this project will bring much-needed peace to the neighborhood and make the community more welcoming for future residents while maintaining safety."

The recently installed "quick-build" street improvements - including signage, street markings and raised bumps - are part of a complete set of local mitigation measures that Union Pacific and the Federal Railroad Administration required prior to establishment of a quiet zone. While existing quick-build improvements currently satisfy requirements to establish the partial quiet zone, the Department of Transportation is already developing designs for permanent improvements at Seventh and Jackson, as well as elsewhere along the corridor. Safety improvements are designed to keep people and vehicles aware of and away from the tracks at rail crossings where train horns can often sound in excess of 100 decibels at night.

"For the past four years, Union Pacific Railroad's shift to running trains through residential neighborhoods late at night has been detrimental to the wellbeing of our community. I want to thank the City's Department of Transportation for their tireless work to implement this partial quiet zone, UPRR for coming to the table, and our partners at the state and federal level for helping to secure additional funding," Councilmember Raul Peralez (D3). "It is my hope that thousands of our residents can rest a little easier tonight and finally get some well-deserved sleep."

The partial quiet zone was also made possible through collaboration with Representative Zoe Lofgren, Supervisor Cindy Chavez and Councilmember Raul Peralez, as well as several residents located in the quiet zone's neighborhood.

"It's good news that a portion of the Warm Springs corridor has officially been designated a quiet zone," said U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-19). "The hard work and collaboration between multiple levels of government, including federal, state, county, and city officials, was successful. The real heroes are our neighbors who kept on working and who will not be hearing the trains' horns in the middle of the night. With the changes made at multiple railroad crossings, public safety will be protected and residents in Japantown and other communities will be able to get the good sleep they deserve."

"This Quiet Zone depended on building and maintaining relationships, communicating with residents frequently and candidly and thinking through problems creatively as a team," said Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez.

"Union Pacific commends the City of San Jose on the successful completion of its Quiet Zone project," Francisco Castillo, Senior Director Public Affairs, Union Pacific. "We understand the work and dedication it took to spearhead this project, and we were proud to be a partner in this effort."

"I'm so proud of my colleagues across the Department of Transportation who pulled together to plan, design, and install the needed signs and markings and make landscaping improvements," said John Ristow, Director, San José Department of Transportation. "And I'm incredibly thankful to Mayor Liccardo, Congresswoman Lofgren, Assemblymember Kalra, Supervisor Chavez, and Councilmember Peralez, as well as the residents who spoke up and held us all to account, for their steadfast support of this project. These changes improve safety and quality of life, allowing our residents some much-deserved peace at night."

Residents traveling through these intersections, whether on foot. vehicle or bicycle, are urged to maintain constant awareness when crossing as trains will not sound horns during the evening and early morning hours, except in cases of emergency. For more information on the quiet zone, click here.

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About the City of San José

With more than one million residents, San José comprises the 10^th largest city in the United States, and one of its most diverse cities. San José's transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.

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